The J.A.P. Squad (standard:drama, 3594 words)
Author: Hopes	Added: Feb 24 2003	Views/Reads: 3339/2294	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The entire family goes to a cabin in the Smokies. Even in the beauty of the mountains, the boys find a way to get in trouble (Jim, Andy & Pete, otherwise known as the J.A.P. Squad). [Third in the "Life Changes" series, but can be read alon

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he had already taken Jim in, another godson, after his father, Roy,  
died from a massive heart attack as he and David left a job.  Jim's 
mother had had a complete mental breakdown and was in a sanitarium.  
David was, indeed, a rare friend. 

In August the entire clan plus would head to the Smokies to a châteaux
they had rented for two weeks.   There would be hiking, camping, 
canoeing and site seeing in addition to lots of fun filled evenings in 
the lodge around the fireplace.  Gran, Gram and Andy would be there, 
and David and Jim.  Alex and Andy were excited that Alex and Ann's 
parents were coming.  Jan, Alex's sister, and Maggie, his daughter, 
were coming.  One of Jim's dad's friends, Ben and his wife were also 
coming.  It looked like a great vacation was shaping up. 

********** 

The summer progressed almost quietly.  The cookout on the fourth was
great as usual.  They had taken many pictures, even some silly ones of 
everyone.  Jim had taken a photography course and was applying his new 
found knowledge. 

Finally, August arrived and everyone was gathering supplies for their
vacation in the mountains.  This would be a very laid-back time, but a 
few ground rules were laid out, especially for the boys.  Of course, 
they felt themselves too old to be reminded to stay on the trails, make 
sure someone knew where they were or planned to be at all times and to 
never go off alone.  They were country boys, after all.  It hurt their 
pride a bit to be pinned down to agree to abide by the simple 
guidelines. 

The first couple of days were spent getting set up, relaxing and getting
to know their area.  The third day was scheduled for site seeing and 
the fourth to go to Dollywood.  Dollywood was definitely the boys' 
favorite of those two days.  The next day was spent on a short scenic 
hike and fishing in the river.  Everyone went canoeing Thursday and the 
boys were full of excitement as they recounted all the wildlife they 
saw as they went down the stream.  The ladies were each put with one of 
the men and thoroughly enjoyed being catered to by the men.  They 
stopped at mid day for a picnic along side the river. 

Water rafting was next on their list, but that would be a couple days
away.  Friday the men and boys took off on an overnight hike/camping 
trip while the ladies got ready for a slumber party.  Sunday they went 
to church at a quaint little mountain church near by.  They went out to 
eat and came home for the traditional Sunday afternoon nap. 

Monday dawned bright and clear.  Not everyone was going rafting.  The
two sets of grandparents decided to forego this event and had plans for 
more site seeing.  Canoeing had been fun, but the thought of being 
tossed around on a fast moving river held no appeal at all for the 
older members of the family! 

It wasn't far to the rafting site.  They left their vehicles and got
into the van where the guides took them up river to where their 
adventure would begin.  All would be in the same raft along with an 
experienced guide.  It was a given that they would be getting wet, so 
they were dressed in t-shirts and shorts and tennis shoes.  At the 
guides' advice, they covered themselves with sunscreen to ensure 
against sunburn from the August sun.  Guidelines and safety rules were 
given and life jackets put on.  Four rafts would be in their group. It 
would take a couple hours to make the ride.  At last they were ready to 
board. 

It was a memorable day with much laughter and screams as they made their
way down the rough river.  Pete was the only experienced Squad member 
and loved watching his adopted cousins' faces during the day.  They, 
along with everyone else, had a great time. 

Why is it that being in or around water makes you so sleepy?  Needless
to say, after supper it wasn't long until they all called it an early 
night and slept soundly until the next morning. 

Morning brought a desire to stay around the chateaux, except for the
boys, of course.  They had decided last night to take one of the longer 
trails, a six mile scenic route.  All three were boys scouts and used 
to wandering the woods at home.  They had been on several shorter hikes 
with the men in the past week, so no one had a problem with their 
plans.  At the outset, they should be able to return by six that 
afternoon since they were leaving by eight.  After being reminded of 
basic safety rules, firmly warned them to stay on marked trails, and 
checked to see that they had water, snacks and first aid kits, the boys 
were sent off. 

The train was well marked and easy to follow, but it was also clear that
it was not as well traveled as the shorter trails they had taken days 
earlier.  It was six miles to the half way point where someone could 
pick you up.  If, however, you wanted to hike the entire trail, you 
could continue on and it would circle around by a different route back 
to the camping site near the chateaux.  This is what they planned to 
do. 

Each had a camera and extra film in their backpack.  The scenery should
provide some beautiful shots.  They had decided that each would take 
their favorite photograph and have it enlarged and framed for their dad 
for Christmas and together they would choose a different one for Gran 
and Gram from the three of them.  That meant that Gran and Gram would 
get two, but they had a big house and that wasn't considered a problem. 
 The JAP Squad felt proud of themselves that they had the foresight to 
plan for Christmas already.  It sure beat the last minute shopping they 
usually did. 

Although August, they had started the day wearing sweatshirts.  Those
were tied around their waists by mid-morning.  The mountain mornings 
were quite cool.  Already they had seen numerous wood creatures and had 
noted them in a notebook to use toward scouting badges.  They spent 15 
minutes watching and laughing at the antics of several chipmunks that 
would stop and chatter at them if they made too much noise.  Another 
time they quietly watched a family of beavers playing in the stream.  
At the half way point they had lunch and refilled their water bottles.  
By one they were on their way once again.  It felt great to be together 
without adults in this ever-changing environment.  They had scoffed 
again at lunch at their elders' concern in reminding them of common 
sense practices of hiking; after all, they were almost adults. 

They had a great time and were only a couple miles away when they saw
the dog.  Many animals had caught their eyes today, but a dog was not 
among the expected.  They recognized him as the same one they had seen 
with one of the families in the next chateaux next to them the night 
before.  He came up and they gave him a little of their trail mix, 
which he didn't care for, but did seem to appreciate the water they 
shared. Suddenly, he took off through the woods, going away from 
‘home'.  They called for him and waited for several minutes, then took 
off after him.  A city dog, they guessed, had no business this far from 
his family and would probably get lost.  He stayed on the trail for a 
while and then cut off, going deeper into the woods.  Without thinking, 
the boys followed.  In a little while they stopped to listen for the 
dog and call for him.  They had lost sight of him and didn't respond 
when they called.  They took a drink and decided they had tried their 
best, but had lost enough time.  It was almost time for them to be 
back. 

Realization set in on all of them at the same moment.  With their
thoughts on the dog, none had followed the rules of staying on the 
trail or marking their way from time to time for the return trip.  With 
a chorus of groans, they realized their mistake and situation.  Oh, 
they were not worried about being lost, they would eventually find the 
river or another trail to follow and find people.  What they were 
worried about was the fact that they would be at least a couple hours 
later than they were supposed to be and would worry the family, after 
making such a fuss at being reminded of the safety guidelines.  The 
humiliation was worse, hopefully, than their punishment would be.  
Finally, they got up and returned in the direction they had come.  For 
all of their foolishness earlier, they were pretty good in the woods, 
and found their own impromptu trail as they slowly made their way.  A 
couple hours later they came to the trail they had been on earlier.  
They were about ½ mile away from the point they met the dog.  
Determinedly they traveled as quickly as possible the last three miles. 


Back at camp, the folks were preparing a hearty meal of steak, potatoes,
salad and garlic bread with apple pie and ice cream for dessert.  All 
were hungry, but they knew the boys would be ravenous at the end of 
their long day.  When they had not returned by 6:45, David made his way 
to the ranger's office.  A mid-sized friendly mongrel greeted him first 
as he made his way up the porch steps to the office.  Something was 
wrapped around his collar and he stopped to remove it.  It was a 
wrapper from a brownie just like what the boys had taken.  He held it 
in his hand as he went inside.  He explained the situation to the 
ranger and told him that he wasn't ready for a search yet, but wanted 
to alert him.  David was not terribly worried yet, but was concerned.  
He asked that they not do anything until they were two hours late.  At 
that point he showed the ranger the wrapping he had found around the 
dog's collar.  They realized that the dog and hikers had obviously met. 
 The ranger thanked David for the alert and lack of panic and agreed to 
come over at eight and check on the status of the hikers. 

As David walked back, he decided to brush off their lateness as the
carelessness of boys to alleviate the worry of the others.  If that's 
all it was, he would be relieved; but they would not be so happy after 
he got his hands on them! 

The group ate their meal and cleaned up the kitchen.  The boys' food was
put up for later when they returned.  By now they were all uneasy.  At 
eight the ranger knocked on the door.  David introduced everyone to him 
and agreed that it was time to do something.  It was decided that the 
ranger, David, Ben, and Pete's Dad would follow the second half of the 
trail backwards to see if they could find them.  He had flashlights for 
all and several blankets and water in a backpack.  By 8:30 they walked 
out the door.  At the edge of the trail they heard the sound of running 
feet.  Three dirty, tired and relieved, but worried boys met four 
solemn, worried men.  With relief the boys were taken into their arms.  
The ranger grinned and gathered up the flashlights.  As he did he said 
that he wished all lost hiker situations ended so easily and said good 
night to them all. 

The boys had begun to get worried as dusk fell.  They knew that they
were in trouble and hoped that they could make it home before a search 
party was sent out.  As they neared the end of the trail their speed 
picked up as their worry increased.  With their minds on their fear, 
they almost ran right into the four men at the edge of the woods.  They 
were taken into warm embraces and realized that the search had been 
about to begin.  Their fatigue and anxiety mingled with relief produced 
tears in their eyes as they realized they were safely home. 

Everyone was on the porch as they approached and ran out to meet them. 
They were fussed over for several minutes and then sent to wash up to 
eat their belated supper.  No questions were asked or comments made 
about the day until after they showered and ready for bed.  It was time 
for their hearing. 

They were told to stand before the fireplace and tell their story.  Pete
was the oldest and began.  He started at the beginning of their day and 
even roused some smiles about his description of the beavers.  No one 
spoke as he continued on to the beginning of their problem.  He knew 
better than to lie or excuse their decision to chase the dog.  All 
three faces were red with embarrassment as he told about when they 
realized they were lost because of their foolishness.  Pete apologized 
and accepted the responsibility for their actions since he was the 
oldest.  Neither Jim nor Alex added anything to the story, but each 
apologized to the family for worrying them.  Their chagrin was enhanced 
when David told them the dog belonged to the ranger. 

All were tired and decided to table any further discussion until the
morning.  It was three quiet, humbled boys who accepted hugs and kisses 
from the family and were tucked into bed as if they were five instead 
of in their teens.  Funny, none of them seemed to mind being treated 
this way.  In moments they were asleep.  Each was a bit restless that 
night in anticipation of the accounting they would give in the morning. 
Such actions would never go unpunished in this family. 

After breakfast Dad and Pete, David and Jim, and Alex and Andy took
walk.  They returned an hour or so later.  Each boy was unusually quiet 
and walked a bit awkwardly.  Again they stood in front of the fireplace 
and apologized for potentially putting themselves in danger and 
worrying the family.  They then went to their room where they spent the 
rest of the day.  Being on vacation and restricted to their room was 
heartbreaking, but none dared not argue with their stern parents, 
especially since they knew it was deserved.  Their lunch was brought to 
them.  With no TV, radio or CD player, there wasn't much to do besides 
talk, nap and think.  It was a long day. 

Just before supper the dads came in.  Pete, Jim and Andy were asked if
they understood what they had done wrong and why they had been 
punished.  Of course they did; this had been thoroughly discussed that 
morning.  When they answered yes, each boy was hugged, told he was 
loved and led out to supper where they were greeted cheerfully.  They 
had been forgiven and things were back to normal. 

The rest of the week was pleasant but uneventful, thankfully.  They all
took another canoe ride on Wednesday.  Thursday they went river rafting 
again while the grandparents went shopping.  Friday morning they packed 
up and said goodbye to the new friends they had made there. 

The last stop was to tell the ranger they were leaving and to thank him
for all his help.  The boys had already made their apologies to him the 
day after their hike.  The ranger knew the boys were truly sorry even 
before being punished and wished more of the families who came there 
took care of their children as well as these folks did. 

The arrival at their respective homes found them tired but happy.  No
matter how much you enjoy your vacation, it just feels great to be home 
and to sleep in your own bed!   There were normal things to take care 
of on Saturday to be ready to get back into their regular routine on 
Monday. 

After church and lunch, David told the boys to recount on paper all
their activities while on vacation.  Pete had gotten the same 
assignment.  They were often asked to do this after some eventful or 
exciting event.  David said it impressed the events better on their 
memories to write them down.  Each had a file in the library where 
these files were kept.  Even though they didn't always want to do it, 
the papers sometimes came in handy during the school year when a 
forgotten assignment of a story had to be written.  This one would 
certainly not be dull!  Come to think of it, few of the papers in their 
files were dull.  Somehow they always seemed to keep things exciting. 

While Jim and Andy were writing, David and Alex sat on the front porch
watching the clouds move slowly across the sky.  Each sat quietly, as 
they often did, lost in their own thoughts.  Today their thoughts were 
along the same line, their boys.  Both knew they had smart, terrific 
kids, even if they occasionally strayed a little.  The exact wording of 
their thoughts was different, but each ended with the exact same phrase 
and an audible sigh:  “Boys will be boys!” 

The End 2/9/03 


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